The most anticipated music event of the summer is back for its fifth year with an unprecedented lineup featuring three of the world’s top musical artists: Eminem, Bruno Mars and Arcade Fire. Virgin Mobile Presents The Squamish Valley Music Festival, produced by Live Nation Canada in partnership with festival creators brand.LIVE Management Group, takes place at the Logger Sports Grounds and Centennial Fields in Squamish, British Columbia, August 8, 9 & 10, 2014.

Overall investment in the Squamish Valley Music Festival is in excess of $12 million for 2014. “This event represents a turning point not only for BC’s live music industry, but also for Canada’s event industry as a whole,” says Paul Haagenson, President, Live Nation Canada. ”To date, Squamish is Eminem’s only Festival announcement in 2014, and will be his first western Canadian show in more than a decade.” Headliner Bruno Mars picked up the Grammy Award for Best Pop Vocal Album this past weekend and will perform at the 2014 Super Bowl XLVII Halftime Show, while Arcade Fire has gone from Canada’s little secret to global superstardom.

“It’s a huge coup to be able to offer this caliber of talent to music fans in our region,” says Haagenson. “Not only that, we’ve created an event that is welcoming top international talent while at the same time generating significant economic revenue for the District of Squamish and province of BC. We anticipate music fans will come from around the region, across Canada and the Pacific Northwest to enjoy our unparalleled Festival experience.”

Squamish Valley Music Festival has expanded onto the Centennial Fields, allowing the event to increase its footprint from 32 acres to 81 acres, safely accommodating more than 35,000 guests per day, up from 19,000 per day in 2013.

Executive Producer of the Squamish Valley Music Festival and Vice-President of brand.LIVE, Paul Runnals says, “Our campgrounds and Festival site have been expanded and we’ve worked very hard to ensure that this year’s experience will be efficient, safe and enjoyable for all involved. We’ve engaged the best in the business to ensure that Festival-goers will be able to enter and exit the event smoothly and any impact to Squamish residents will be minimized as much as possible.”

The event has been working with the same transportation expert who oversaw the entire transportation program for VANOC during the 2010 Games. “We are confident that our overall event plans, will ensure this event runs smoothly in key areas of transportation, onsite accommodation, security and impact to the community,” says Runnals. “We feel we have one of the most breathtaking locations in the country and with the convenience of being only 40 minutes from downtown Vancouver, we know that this event will continue to generate significant tourism and economic benefits to British Columbia and specifically throughout the Squamish region.”

“Today’s music landscape consists of fans who take in all genres and are as passionate as ever about discovering new artists,” says Erik Hoffman, Live Nation Canada Vice-President of Talent. “This year’s programming will speak directly to these fans. The line-up represents exactly what is happening in music at this moment and will feature an amazing mix of artists from around the globe alongside the best emerging talent from our own backyard. We couldn’t be prouder of who’s coming to our party.”

“As presenting sponsor, we are extremely excited to be part of the Festival’s growth over the past three years. With this extraordinary talent lineup, 2014 will be the Festival’s biggest year yet,” says Kevin Campbell, Director of Brand Experience, Virgin Mobile Canada. “Virgin Mobile Members will get the chance to be part of the ultimate VIP access starting with our presale February3.”

The event is also expanding its use of an RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) enabled wristband system. Ticketholders will receive their RFID wristband via registered mail in the weeks leading up the event and must register online to activate it. The RFID system will allow for smoother, more efficient access at gates, faster processing for all onsite transactions and will allow Festival staff to better assist guests.

“We’re pleased to announce that our RFID system also allows us to be the first fully cashless festival in Canada,” says Runnals. “This will speed up service times at beer gardens, food vendors and merchant sites around the grounds. Guests can load their RFID wristband with credit prior to entering the festival grounds, and will have multiple options to add credit if necessary.”

Weekend passes to Virgin Mobile Presents The Squamish Valley Music Festival go on sale Friday, February 7 at 10:00 am. Tickets will be available at Ticketmaster. Virgin Mobile Members presale starts Monday, February 3 at 10:00 am and ends Thursday, February 5 at 4:00pm. Members who purchase a Festival pass will receive a $20 credit applied to their RFID wristband, while quantities last. Visit www.virginmobile.ca/benefits to see the exclusive access and deals available for Virgin Mobile Members.

For more information on the Festival lineup, RFID system, tickets and more please visit: www.SquamishFestival.com. Find us on Twitter @squamishfest #vmsquamish & Facebook.

About brand.LIVE

brand.LIVE is one of Canada’s leading event production, sponsorship and management agencies with a diverse portfolio of extraordinary events. Notable projects include: the 2005, 2009 and 2011 Grey Cup Festivals, The annual Canada Day Celebrations at Canada Place, Sarah McLachlan’s “Summer Sessions at Ambleside” and “Voices in the Park” fundraising Concerts, The Khatsahlano Music Festival, The “Whistler Presents” annual summer Concert Series, The BC Children’s Hospital Crystal Ball Gala as well as the annual Celebration of Light Fireworks Festival., recognized as the largest offshore fireworks competition in the world. In 2010, brand.LIVE created and launched the inaugural “Live at Squamish” festival, which rebranded in 2013 as the “Squamish Valley Music Festival”

Based in Vancouver’s Yaletown district, the brand.LIVE team produce award winning events that feature innovative programming fused with cutting-edge creativity, and were the first production company in Canada to actively engage and promote the world-wide EcoNeutral program while offsetting the carbon footprint of every event they produce. For more information visit www.brandlivegroup.com

About Live Nation Entertainment:

Live Nation Entertainment (NYSE: LYV) is the world’s leading live entertainment company comprised of four market leaders: Ticketmaster, Live Nation Concerts, Artist Nation Management and Live Nation Media/Sponsorship. For additional information, visit www.livenation.com/investors

About Virgin Mobile Canada

At Virgin Mobile, you’re not a customer, you’re a Member and “Members Get” exclusive deals from awesome brands, a shot at VIP access and one-of-a-kind experiences to events in Canada and around the world. That’s on top of super-hot smartphones on ridiculously-fast LTE speeds and plans with loads of extras built right in! Virgin Mobile Members and Canadians can do some good in their local communities by helping empower at-risk and homeless youth in Canada with Virgin Mobile’s RE*Generation Movement.